The Firebirds defeated the Milwaukee Admirals by the final score of 5-3 in front of a sold-out crowd at Acrisure Arena. Five different Firebirds netted goals in the victory that gives Coachella Valley a 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference Finals and sent 10,087 Firebirds fans home happy.
The Firebirds opened the scoring just one minute into the game after a mishandle from Admirals goaltender Yaroslav Askarov. The puck landed on the stick of Askarov on a dump in, who dropped it down to his legs. Alexander True poked the puck through Askarov to give Coachella Valley a 1-0 lead.
Milwaukee pulled even on a powerplay goal from Zach Sanford, their first man-advantage tally of the series.
Coachella Valley regained the lead after Jesper Froden lofted the puck towards the net. Froden’s shot deflected off Admirals’ d-man Marc Del Gaizo and went behind Askarov to make it 2-1 just 1:44 into the second period. Ryker Evans and Gustav Olofsson earned the assists on Froden’s second of the postseason.
Ville Petman extended the Firebirds’ lead at 6:25 of the second period on a 2-on-1 rush. Shane Wright poked the puck from his own blueline out to center ice where Petman carried it the rest of the way, snapping it past Askarov for his fourth of the playoffs.
The Admirals made it a one goal game 3:44 into the third period on a goal from Michael McCarron. With Coachella Valley leading 3-2 late, Milwaukee pulled Askarov for the extra attacker, leaving their cage vacant.
Max McCormick and Carsen Twarynski each netted empty-net goals for a 5-2 lead for the Firebirds. Egor Afanasyev put a puck past Joey Daccord with 14 seconds left for the third goal of the game for Milwaukee.
Joey Daccord made 24 saves in the Firebirds’ victory that gives them a 2-0 series lead. Coachella Valley’s powerplay finished 0-for-5 and the penalty kill went 3-for-4
Read the game’s full box score HERE.
The Firebirds head to Milwaukee to face the Admirals for game thee of the Western Conference Finals this Monday, May 29th. Puck drop is set for 4pm PT. Be sure to head over to the FREE watch party at the Spotlight Showroom at Spotlight 29 Casino for all three road games this week. All ages welcome.
Tickets are available for the remaining home games of the Western Conference Finals. Fans are encouraged to wear white to all Round 4 home games and arrive early to cheer on the home team at Acrisure Arena! Tickets are on sale now with individual tickets starting at just $29 and group tickets (10 or more people) beginning at $25. Visit CVFirebirds.com to purchase and learn more information.
Stay up to date on the latest Firebirds’ news and info by visiting CVFirebirds.com and by following the team on social media @Firebirds.
Season tickets for the Firebirds’ 2023-24 campaign are on sale now! For a full list of benefits and more information on Season Ticket Memberships for the 2023-24 season, click HERE or call 760-835-8778
Original source can be found here.